Umi Hotpot Sushi & Seafood Buffet — Restaurant in City of Industry

We got there around 4:30 pm on a Friday, so we've missed the lunch buffet, but, luckily, right before the dinner crowd because it got super crowded and lines began forming afterward. Turns out, most of the things we saw advertised on social media were only available at dinner.

The seating areas were spacious, but the tables were a little tight to fit everyone's plates PLUS the single-person hot pot and its raw dishes if the servers don't come and take away excess plates more frequently. I liked the fact that many of the dishes were stackable, like dimsum steamers, to save space. There were the usual seasonings at the table, as well as the wider variety near the hotpot frozen section.

There really was a large variety of foods to choose from, and it was impossible to try everything in one sitting, so we tried to be selective. Unfortunately, due to the large crowd with similar mentality, most of the sought-after dishes, like the mini razor clams, the baby abalone, and the modified and seemingly less concentrated Buddha's Temptation (FoTiaoQiang) (slightly disappointed that it's not served in traditional soup stoneware) would disappear as soon as they were brought out from the kitchen and wouldn't be replenished immediately. The buffet areas, including the drinks fridge, got pretty crowded (and emptied) at some points that it got a little chaotic. By the time the drinks fridge was refilled, they weren't even cold enough, and they weren't filled with the coldest in front.

For me, the highlights were at the sashimi section (great variety, thick cuts, good flavor), the seafood (didn't spend time cracking snow crab legs, but had the cold half-spliced crab, hot mini razor clams, barbecue shrimp which was very crunchy but too much BBQ sauce, fried shrimp that were large and tasty), and a lot of Asian dessert tea drinks (tarot milk tea, Vietnamese coffee, grass jelly, Chinese herbal tea just to name a few).

The hotpot bone broth soup base was nice. I should've drank some before cooking in it because it was too greasy to drink it after. The sliced meat was quite fatty, and it seemed there was only one type of sliced meat at the hotpot freezer. I'm not sure if we had to order through a waitress, but we didn't see a menu. Aside from the leafy greens, all the frozen trays had a set amount of food or count (3) in it, which means I couldn't just try one piece. Also, they keep changing out the different green vegetables instead of putting what's available on display. I missed the chrysanthemum coronarium and ended up with watercress, which my 80-year-old father had difficulty chewing (slightly overripe).

I didn't have room to sample any desserts or the salmon and beef steaks, which I hear were delicious, nor the ramen station.

Given the wide selection in most everything, I was less impressed that there wasn't more variety at the ice cream station, only fudge bar, chocolate, or strawberry ice cream in a cup. I was hoping they'd at least have the familiar Asian flavors like matcha and red bean. If they had red bean dessert and vanilla ice cream, I could create my own dessert too.

Overall, it was a good meal. We all enjoyed the different foods we liked. Unfortunately, for the price, it's not a place for repeated visits for the...

Saturday 4/19/25 Lunch at Umi Buffet with my friend Helen. Introducing her to this restaurant and enjoying a wonderful weekend afternoon with delicious variety of foods.

The service staffs worked hard and quickly serving customers and very friendly.

David Young Restaurant Enthusiast ———- Friday 1/31/25 Lunch at Umi Buffet with my friend Michelle. Introducing her to this restaurant. She liked it. Enjoying a wonderful day with delicious foods. Catching up with each other’s life experiences.

David Young Restaurant Enthusiast ————

Friday 1/24/25 Lunch at Umi Buffet with my friend Myriam. Introduced her to this unique restaurant. She really liked it and need to come several more times to try out their vast selection of foods, desserts, and drinks. I’ve been here numerous times and still haven’t try out all their dishes. Luckily I live close to this restaurant and have many more family members, relatives, and friends to introduce to this restaurant where I recommend.

Their service staffs were friendly and worked hard and quickly to serve customers. Some provided a beautiful smiles when not wearing a mask. Thank you.

David Young Restaurant Enthusiast ————-

Thursday 1/9/25 Dinner at Umi Hotpot Sushi & Seafood Buffet with my friend Victoria. Enjoying at wonderful buffet with lots of selection of foods and speciality drinks.

David Young Restaurant Enthusiast ———- Wednesday 11/13/24 Lunch at Umi Hotpot Sushi & Seafood Buffet in City of Industry with my dear friends Luz & Paul. Introducing them to this new buffet restaurant and having a great time catching up with each other’s life journey and experiences. Enjoying delicious foods over great conversations. Simple and joyous. Luz and Paul, thank you for coming out with me to eat on a last minute notice. Sometimes the good part in life comes unexpectedly or I’m not organized enough to give you advance notice. lol

David Young Restaurant Enthusiast —————

Monday 10/28/24 Lunch at Umi Hotpot Sushi & Seafood Buffet in City of Industry with my friend Benny. Enjoying an amazing buffet in a beautiful afternoon off from work.

David Young Restaurant Enthusiast —————

Tuesday 10/22/23 Lunch at Umi Hotpot Sushi & Seafood Buffet in City of Industry with my friends Erwin & Victoria (buffet buddies). Enjoying a wonderful buffet and great conversations. Lots of different foods and boba drinks. Nice atmosphere and good customer service. I will be coming back to try out other foods items.

David Young Restaurant Enthusiast —————-

Tuesday 10/15/23 Lunch at Umi Hotpot Sushi & Seafood Buffet in City of Industry celebrating my friend Eddie’s 80th birthday. Enjoying crab legs, shabu, and different unlimited boba drinks. Delicious foods! Lots of selection with a great price. I will be returning to try out the rest of the foods.

Nice decorations and playing upbeat music.

Service staffs working hard, attentive, and service with a smile.

I recommend trying out this restaurant.

David...

Super happy that I am the 2nd review in Yelp!

Thank you Umi Hotpot, Sushi , and Seafood Buffet for my BEST meal in this year of 2024 so far! The price and value is TOTALLY WORTH IT!!!

Even though NOT ALL the dishes were perfect, but some of their SPECIALTY FOODS out shine those imperfections!

This is the 1st Buffet that I did NOT try out 90% of food. (I ALWAYS do that to make sure I can give a FAIR assessment of the buffet)

What's stopping me? Well, I was TOO FULL eating the FAMOUS "Buddha’s Temptation 佛跳牆" or "Buddha Jumps Over the Wall". I ate 4 bowls. :p

Nevertheless, I did try total of 25 dishes, drinks, and desserts. So I will just give you my FAVORITES for now because I am in a food coma now. Hahaha

RANKING FROM BEST TO GREAT

Buddha’s Temptation 佛跳牆" or "Buddha Jumps Over the Wall". Taste grade A +

NO other buffets i tried around the WORLD offer this dish with this REASONABLE price 😋 Just see my picture and you will know how WONDERFUL it is.

Steam halibut with homemade sauce. Taste grade A +

Big fish. Tender and flavourful. Just the way I love it.

Braised pork belly . Taste grade A

The meat they chose was PERFECT! BALANCED fat and lean meat at the same time. A bit hard from frying or else I will give it an A+.

Fried soft shell crab. Taste grade B+

This place is the ONLY buffet I know to offer this dish now. (All the previous buffets were all closed :P ) It is not too oily but the flavor is just ok.

Thai chicken wing. Taste grade B+

The seasoning is unique. Never tried it before. But lack of "Thai" flavor in my opinion.

Mushroom soup base for hotpot. Taste grade B+

Different flavor than the other brand of hotpot soup base. I like it, but a bit salty for me.

Tapioca pudding drink. Taste grade B+.

This place is the ONLY buffet I know to offer this drink in a sealed drink container. All other places just put it in a big bowl and you get what you want.

Orange ramune soda drink. Taste grade B

I was elated to see this Japanese marble soda and you can drink it for free! (included in the buffet :p) No other buffets in the California do that! Unfortunately, the taste is not as good as what I tried in Taiwan and Japan.

These are the 8 items that I think are worth to mention. All other 17 dishes and desserts are standard.

Dishes I MUST try next time:

Ox tail meat BBQ lamb meat Hotpot lamb meat Crab leg All the sashimi All the sushi All the drinks 8....too many items that I didn't try! Please see the pictures.

In conclusion, this is THE ONLY buffet that I will give a 5 star rating. 95 out of 100 points (with the price and service counted into cal calculations)

I will be back again and again....until the price or quality goes bad. Hahaha.

Jesus loves everyone!

P.S. Some of the items were EMPTY because the pictures were taken at 10pm and it was the FIRST day of opening. So...there were MORE items that I will...